There are several catalysts/inspirations for this entry. 1.) several people commented that they would like me to expand on my previous entry on the album 2.) an energetic discussion of the album with a great friend and uberfan of Bowie about this album 3.) The extra research I’ve done on Bowie and the making of this album (some of which was published before David’s death).
“I’m not sure how many I’ve got left, you know? But making music is really still at the top of my pile. I really enjoy it so much; I love writing it, and creating it. And I think we all have a longing for something that can engage our systems, and that we can nurture ourselves with – a romance of life. It becomes harder and harder to plug into that particular feeling, I think. But what else would I do other than what I do?”- July 2003 Soma (US)
Interviewer- “Do you feel you’ve been lucky?”
“Do I feel lucky? I’m supposed to say luck had nothing to do with it . . .”
Interviewer- “Or blessed?”
“I should call one of my albums that. I’m blessed. I could thank God. But which one?” – November 2003,The Word (UK)
One could mourn Bowie as the intellect. He definitely ranks with Jim Morrison as one of the most well-read artists of rock. His interviews were a fascinating insight into not only the rock world but art itself, its function in society and the symbolic, deeper meanings or our actions (and reactions) as society in general. Leave it to the man himself to leave an emotional as well as intellectual treatise on death itself from a dying man ( I can feel David laughing himself into tears and convulsions at such a thought). Not since Sun Ra has anyone made such a serious statement and joke about dying as Bowie.
Based on my research and my analysis ( odd as it may seem to some), I am going to explain this album track by track. Hopefully, by doing so I don’t ruin it for you (in fact, I hope it enhances your experience more than hinders). But first . . . a little (brief as I can)intro.
David found his backup band by accident in a bar called 55 Club. It was a free form jazz quartet that Bowie had seen. They didn’t even know he was in the audience. As one band member said it was lucky they didn’t know until later because they would have been too afraid that the gig wouldn’t be as good. David found the keyboardist at the same club. Then they were approached to be his band on the next album. There was the typical distrustful “wait and see” attitude that musicians tend to adopt when a big “star” approaches them. More times than not It doesn’t pan out. (I can relate as many others can). But bowie brought them in. He was serious. Then they worked on “Sue”. It was a very jazz version with horns. It was more Bing and Frank than David and appeared on his collection “Nothing Has changed.” This was the first thing the band worked on. According to horn player Donny McCaslin in a Jan. 11 New York Times article, they worked one week every month (11am to 4 pm every day) from January through March. Every song but one was reworked from David Bowie’s demos which, according to Wikipedia (which has no citation for this but I do believe), worked on immediately after the completion of The Next Day ( so take that Paul Simon! Note his comment on BBC.com June 2, 2016. A year earlier Art Garfunkel made a similar comment. I have lots to say about that but, for now, I will stick to this.)
Blackstar- the demo for this was originally two demos. They were two demos of two different songs that were supposed to be combined for one track with an improvised middle part. Bowie took as his inspiration Lamar Kendrick’s “To Pimp A Butterfly” to make a non-Rock Rock album just as TPAB was essentially a non-Hip Hop Hip Hop album (Jazz oriented). The track took on a life of its own though. Complete with cryptic lyrics as well as Bowie having some fun with the wordplay (I’m not a gang star/I’m not a porn star/ I’m not a white star/I’m a star star”). It has been considered that Bowie took the idea of the symbol of the Blackstar from a cancerous lesion found in the breast that could “show evidence that the radial scar they (it) form(s) around is benign, rather than cancerous (Daily Telegraph 12 Jan., 2016).” The song is personal and yet not, which is typical Bowie. The accompanying video is interesting with its strange, convulsive dance, different planet, symbols of mortality and cryptic ritual. The original song was 11 or so minutes but he clipped it at 10 min. to accommodate YouTube. It doesn’t suffer one bit from this concession, in my opinion. In fact, I prefer to ignore the video despite its uniqueness. To me listening to the song in the dark offers much more. Why in the dark? you may ask. Because of the mood? There is that but also listening in the dark or with eyes closed allows you to focus on the hearing sense more with sight being a non-factor. The stuttering beat, the keyboard sounds along with the Syd Barrett-like glissando guitar create a world in and of itself. Everyone talks about the Jazz element of this album but the psychedelic element gets forgotten. This has plenty of those elements. Jazz, by the way, played a significant role in the London Psychedelic Underground of the Sixties, of which, David was enamoured with. Lyrically, the song is cryptic (typical). That’s what so great about it! People can interpret things from their own standpoint instead of the artist telling them what it means. Songs with straightforward lyrics are entertaining but I find it easier to get bored with them. It’s like a movie you enjoy watching multiple times. You do it for one or both of two reasons 1.) It’s a comfort 2.) You get a new perspective every time. This song is a lot of the second reason (notice that I did not say #2. That would have given the wrong impression!). The song says a lot about death and rebirth. In 1997 interview for Q magazine, David talked about no longer playing “the hits” and emphasizing his new material and said, ” . . . that period of time – from today until my demise- is the only thing that fascinates me.” The interviewers response was, “You’re already thinking about your death?”
David’s response? “I don’t think there’s been a time that I haven’t (laughing). I know that this life is finite and I have to accept that.”
The interviewer then asks, “What’s stopping you from believing in an afterlife?”
“I didn’t say I didn’t,” he said quickly. “I believe in a continuation, kind of a dream-state without the dreams. Oh, I don’t know. I’ll come back and tell you.”
I think this quote explains the lyrical content of the song Blackstar better than anything else . . . but then again . . . .
(Note the aforementioned interview was found in the book Bowie on Bowie, a compilation of interviews from 1969 to 2003. The quote comes from page 322.)
(Another note: In another interview he describes his views and they veer towards Gnosticism. Then he quickly says that he would describe himself as a Gnostic. The interviewer then asks, “So you won’t be coming out with an album called “The Laughing Gnostic” any time soon?” It takes David a while to catch the joke but once he does, he laughs so hard he falls off his stool! That interviewer deserves an award!)
This is part one of my take on Blackstar. I am putting this out in parts because of my hiatus and because there’s a lot more to write. Part two should come out in a day or so. Then again, deadlines have a tendency to go whoosh as they pass by but I will try. Cheers!